. good morning. fight to the finish. election day exactly one month away. president obama handling with a positive jobs report, hoping it will help him keep his job. governor mitt romney says it's too little too late. a legendary business executive claims the books were cooked. skating scandal. a u.s. olympic speed skater admits to tampering with a rival's skate before a big competition and he says he did it against his will. he'll explain why in an exclusive interview. and are they back together? new signs of chris brown and rihanna dating again, despite their violent history, and it has some people wondering what she's thinking. today's saturday, october 6th, 2012.

>> from nbc news, this is "today" with lester holt and jenna wolf, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a saturday morning. >> it's good to have you back from afghanistan. safe and sound. >> good to be back. >> and you're back into the thick of politics here in this country as well. >> it feels like this presidential race has been going on for so long now, but one month from today, voters nationwide will head to the polls and that's it. >> they say it's been -- after a rough debate, a little good news for president obama. unemployment fell to its lowest level since he took office.

we're going to look at what's driving the higher prices. >> a story of a miraculous recovery. a 23-year-old woman's brush with death when her skull was separated from her spine in a car accident. she'll be here to tell us how doctors were able to help her survive. >> it's called an internal decapitation. it was gruesome. it's amazing. it's really a wonderful story. then we're going switch gears. lester and i went to jamaica over the summer for work. i don't want to just hang out on the beach all day. look how create lester looks? i decided to give lester holt a workout he would never forget. >> yeah. i should be out of traction any day now. what part of the word rest don't you understand? >> i just feel like you brag about all the stamina you have. i figured you didn't need rest in the middle of a workout. >> 100 degrees out there. >> 19 minutes of fun for him.

60 minutes of fun for me. we're going to start with politics, though. presidential politics. can a better than expected employment report give president obama a boost? mike, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. it was only three tenths a percentage drop. 7.8% in september. but compared to other months, that is an enormous drop below the symbolic level of 8% unemployment, and more importantly for the political fortunes of the president, not to mention the millions of people who were unemployed in this country. it is now down to where it was when president obama took office. that is certainly welcome news coming off what is universally regarded his poor debate performance wednesday night. the president had two rallies in two swing states, virginia and ohio. he welcomed the news while at the same time warning against using -- he didn't mention any names, his political opponents using the economy as a political

weapon. mitt romney for his part at another separate rally in virginia said don't be deceived by these numbers. they don't reflect the number of people who actually have quit the work force and have given up looking for work. in reality, that number has gone down, too. the so called real unemployment rate now at 14.7%. one more thing. mitt romney in a conservative television interview went and disavowed that infamous comment that he made that has cost him so much politically, that 47% of americans he called victims, said they would never vote for him. he said he was flat-out wrong to make that comment. >> mike, thank you. we asked joe scarborough from "morning joe" to take a look back at the week that was in politics. something we're going to call our "weekend mojo." >> so, joe, it was an important week. the presidential election, the unemployment rate came out yesterday at 7.8%. that seems to be -- appeared to be good news for the president. >> there's a big economic debate on exactly what it means. we debated it this week when the

number came out. a confusing number. but the political impact, straight forward. this is great news for barack obama. the best number in over three and a half years. what it means for the economy and more importantly for americans trying to find a new job. it's too early to tell. >> of course, the president and governor romney this week went head-to-head in their first dae bait. ta >> for 18 months he's been running on this tax plan. now five months before the election he's saying his big, bold idea is never mind. >> mr. president obama, you're entitled to your own airplane and own house, but not the facts. >> i think it's safe to say the president got trounced. it was the ugliest night. >> the president is going to have to stand up and deliver. he still has a big lead in a couple of key states, but that lead will evaporate quickly. >> he has to step it up. before the debate, we had a new nbc news wall street marist poll. the president up eight points

among likely voters in ohio but just two points in virginia and statistically tied in virginia. >> as the late great tim russert would say, it comes down to one state for the romney campaign -- ohio, ohio, ohio. >> now, afghanistan is always in our thoughts. but last week, there was a special incredibly disturbing milestone. the total number of u.s. military deaths in the war eclipsed the 2,000 mark. and tomorrow marks the 11th anniversary of the war in afghanistan. 11 years. >> wow. the greatest disappointment for us and certainly for a lot of americans whose sons or daughters are serving in afghanistan is the fact that these candidates don't talk about afghanistan. it's a waste of american blood. it's a waste of american money. and the question is why aren't the politicians talking about it this year? >> i'll be looking for clarity from both presidential candidates during the debate on foreign policy. looking ahead to next week, though, we're expected for the

vice presidential debates' candidates on thursday. joe biden versus paul ryan. who do you think is going to do well? >> i love them both. i know them both very well. they're both good blue collar catholics. but it's going to be ryan. no doubt about it. listen, joe biden right now is the republican secret weapon. this past week he talked about the fact that the past four years have been brutal for the middle class, who's been buried under obama leadership. then he promised a trillion-dollar tax increase a couple of days ago. we want more biden as republicans. more biden. >> don't underestimate joe biden and his decades of serving washington and knowing washington. paul ryan, i wish you the best of luck. >> and joe biden is a great man and we wish him well, and we hope he keeps talking a lot. >> that's your "morning joe" political wrap. >> and you can catch joe and mika weekdays at 6:00 a.m. eastern. with more now, here's lester. they mentioned the latest

unemployment numbers. is the economy really recovering? we're here with audio look inside the numbers. help me understand this now. the actual number of jobs added in september was not a huge increase, but we still saw this drop of the overall rate to 7.8%. how does that work? >> two big things. first of all, 86,000 more jobs were added in july and august together than originally expected. august had those dismal statistics that made president obama look not so great in his recovery plan, but actually if those numbers turned out to be revised, 86,000 more jobs, that's going to give you a boost to that unemployment number. also the number of part-time workers jumped by over half a million just in the last month. that's an fortunate statistic, but it is one that will give you the overall sense that the unemployment number is coming down. >> what were the winners and losers in terms of industries? >> first health care added the most jobs of any sector, 44,000

jobs there. transportation and warehousing, restaurant services close behind. a lot of those restaurant jobs will be those part-time jobs. but manufacturing actually subtracted 16,000 jobs. some of those jobs are being lost there. >> the unemployment rate is, as we heard politically it's potentially good news for democrats. not everyone convinced, though. yesterday jack welch, the former chairman and ceo of ge, tweeted unbelievable job numbers. these chicago guys will do anything. can't debate, so change numbers. he's obviously very influential man. when he tweets, people listen. is there any way that these kinds of numbers can be manipulated? >> he tweets, people listen, they retweet, they write about it and we certainly talked about it a lon on cnbc. the fact of the matter is the bureau of labor statistics has been calculating this number since 1948. it's a scientific survey. they poll 140,000 businesses. you definitely have a giant sample here. what some people are saying is a possibility is that the type of

businesses sampled were ones that were skewed towards jobs added. those place where is they might have add more part-time workers. we also saw a giant jump in the number of people employed from the age group of 20 to 24. the biggest jump since 1964. some of these businesses that employed more young people being pulled? it's unlikely. it's really an issue of how much data you can actually get together in 30 days time. of course, you can revise these numbers up to two months out. so we should know in two months if these numbers get revised down. >> i feel like sometimes we don't know how to accept good news. what's the overall trend, though? are we adding jobs quickly enough? >> i think that's the big issue. of course, 7.8% psychologically, it's a great number, but when president obama unveiled the stimulus plan, he said this should get us to 5.6%. that gives you a benchmark. that lets you know that the growth of jobs in america is not as fast as the government would like it to be and certainly not as great as the american people would like it to be.

i think that when you look at the number of jobs added in the last month, it was good. it was better than expected. lower than the average for the years. we added 11000 jobs, 10,000 of those were from government, and the average for the year for each month was 150,000. so it's slow, but it is moving in right direction. >> thanks so much. once again, here's jenna. and while the economy may be picking up, there's something else on the rise as well and it's much more unwelcome and it's gas prices. they spiked overnight once again in california, reaching an all-time high and drivers are not happy to say the least. more now from christa dahlgren. >> reporter: just when californians thought things couldn't get worse -- >> five bucks? oh, my god. >> reporter: even bigger sticker shock. prices up another 20 cents a gallon since midnight. >> going from $4.70 a week ago. >> reporter: in california, the average price per gallon is up

36 cents in a week to $4.49. 67 cents more than this time last year when gas was $3.82. today more and more stations topped $5, some even nearing six. that is if they have gas. many costco stations shut down this week after running out. and independent stations say they can barely break even, wholesale prices are so high. >> every day the price is going up crazy. we have no control. >> reporter: they've tried to explain that to customers. >> chevron's facility is still down from august. suffering through some torrent power interruptions. refinery production is taking a big drop. >> reporter: on thursday, valero announced it was suspending spot sales of gasoline, though it will continue to supply its own stations. while customers brace for the long holiday weekend, it could bring more big jumps at the

pump. now let's get a check of this morning's other top stories. >> chris jansing is at the news desk for us this morning. >> good morning, lester and gener jenna. good morning, everyone. a radical muslim will face charges in the united states. they arrived in new york and connecticut early this morning. at least two of the suspects are due in new haven federal court today. they face a variety of charges stretching back several years. the fbi says a preliminary investigation has found friendly fire is likely to blame for the death this week of a border patrol agent along the arizona-mexico border. agent nicolas ivey and two others were responding to an alarm triggered by a censor aimed at detecting people entering the u.s. illegally. ivey was fatally shot. another agent was wounded. health officials say there are now 47 cases in seven states of people sickened by a deadly meningitis outbreak.

five people have died after receiving steroid shots for back pain. those shots made by the new england compounding center may have been contaminated with fungal meningitis. food and drug officials confirm that salmonella has been found in new mexico-based sunland, a plant that makes peanut butter products for trader joe's and several other large national grocery trains. the trader joe's peanut butter is now linked to 35 salmonella illnesses in 17 states, most of them california and texas. italy's mount etna is rumbling again. signs of registered activity in a recently opened crater this week. europe's tallest active volcano has seen nine eruptive events this year, but experts say it isn't likely to erupt this time. that's the news. now back to lester, jenna, and stephanie. >> chris jansing, thanks very much. dylan dreyer is off because she is getting married today. >> congratulations! >> congratulations to her. there she is is with her fiance,

soon to be her husband. >> so cute. >> so stephanie abrams is here instead. not instead. in addition. never mind, you're here, so that's all that matters. >> i feel so welcome! awkward. >> love having you. i quick. >> let's just get to the weather maybe. >> so super. >> are you guys ready for some cold air? because it's coming. look at these frost and freeze advisories for this morning. sunday morning and monday morning, temperatures down into the 20s in some of these locations. here's a look at our current temperatures, and some places are already seeing temperatures into the teens. look at huron there into south dakota. it's going to spread east, it's going to spread south. enjoy the >> good saturday morning. a wig weekend happening across san francisco.

the first playoff game. 75 in livermore and 75 in concord and 70 degrees in san francisco, holding on to warm temperatures. changing around the corper. hold to the seven-day forecast. the giants take on the reds and it should be breezy. we will have the action for you throughout the day. count on showers on tuesday. lester, over to you. >> it's a scandal that fascinated catholics worldwide. the pope's former butler on trial for leaking documents to the press. this dinner, paolo

gabriellely was so trusted, he was one of the few people to have a key to the pontiff's apartment, so close, he was able to take thousands of confidential documents. >> it was a betrayal of trust. pablo says that himself. for the vatican, i don't think anyone's too worried about what was in the documents, it's the fact that the documents were taken from the pope's apartment. >> gabriella admitted taking papers his boss asked be destroyed. but according to police, they found them stashed in the butler's apartment instead. the 46-year-old passed the documents on to an investigative journalist so-called vatileaks causing embarrassment for the church with allegations of financial corruption and cover-up. gabriellely claims he saw corruption everywhere in the church and acted alone to root

it out. >> he's right. maybe the corruption should be out. we should know about the vatican because there was stuff going on that no one knows about for so long that it's about time we really find out. he should be a hero. >> did he act alone. >> many vatican watchers say no and one author claims the case masks a wider power struggle. >> it is clear that there is not only one man but a group of monsignors and employees of the vatican who are following a line of underground opposition. >> whether he had help or not, paulo gabriele, the humble trusted butler briefly exposed the secrets on this center of catholic faith and power. >> gab rel is now under house arrest and in the last few minutes, a vatican spokesman said there is a real possibility the pope will give forgiveness and issue a pardon. >> thank you. once again, here's jenna.

>> lester, have you ever tried a gluten free product? if so, you're not alone. it's a $5 billion industry and growing. but why now and does it improve your health? here's rock center's josh man mankiewicz. >> baseball wouldn't be the same without a hot dog and a beer. but hot dogs, are they the same without gluten? >> gluten free is always better for you. >> reporter: welcome to the real american pasttime. the belief that there's a magic dietary bullet that can by itself change our lives, make us healthier and thinner. just by eating it. or in this case, by avoiding it. the number of u.s. restaurants with gluten-free menus rose 61% last year. including the olive garden and p.f. chang's. it's like an emerging religion. some churches now offer gluten free commonon wafers.

this is a business. >> why you eating gluten free? >> because she's eating. >> what is gluten. >> wheat i think? >> right. gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. so it's in baked goods and cereals, but because it acts as a sticky binding agent, it's also in soups, gravy, sauces, salad dressings, even hot dogs and ketchup. but some people just can't digest gluten. if they eat it, they'll get sick. about 1% of americans have skeel yak disease, guaranteeing that gluten in their diet carries with it pain, discomfort, sometimes even rashes or joint pain. what's interesting is that there aren't nearly enough people who have medical problems with gluten to explain the giant surge in gluten-free products. >> we now have over 300 gluten free products.

>> dom is a marketing manager for general mills. >> they range from fruit snacks and yoplait yogurt, progresso soups all the way to our chex favors as well as bet ewe crocker and business quick. >> is there any scientific proof if you're not part of that extremely small minority of americans who have sensitivity to gluten, that going without is helpful to you in any way? >> there's a lot of emerging science. there's a percentage of americans that are trying gluten free to help them feel better, to help them achieve personal goals and you know, we hope that gluten free helps them get to where they want to go. >> it is a fad. there's no doubt the market research data shows that it's a fad. it's a $4.9 billion business. >> elizabeth sloan is one of the corrupt's leading experts on trends in the food industry. >> people believe that if they go do a gluten free diet, it's going to make them lose weight.

there is no scientific evidence to show that's the case. >> everybody's doing it, everybody's talking about it, but it doesn't mean that it's good for everybody. >> dr. mark high man is the founder of the ultra medical center. >> is gluten healthy? >> gluten is not either healthy or unhealthy. it depends on whether your body is rejecting it. >> there's this sort of general feeling among people who don't know too much about it that giving up gluten is probably a good idea because it's going to make me healthier, true. >> if a food has a health claim on it, it's probably bad for you. gluten free junk food is still junk food. >> that was josh mankiewicz reporting. >> still to come, the woman who survived an accident that separated her skull from her spine. her remarkable story and recovery. first, this is "today" on nbc. ♪ ♪ we were skipping stones ♪ and letting go ♪ over the river and down the road ♪ [ female announcer ] at nature valley,

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still to come on "today," a loaf of bread, a gallon of milk and a pair of jeans? one grocery store's move to bring in new customers. plus, a golden anniversary for 007 and the fab four. but first, these messages.

good morning to you. i'm chris sanchez. this is a very busy weekend in san francisco and beyond. what you need to know about the weather. we have fleelt wet week and thed blue angels. >> i'm ready. a great looking day shaping up. things are going to change through the next 72 hours. if you will be headed to the city, count on great conditions. it works out like this. temperatures in the 50s and plenty of 40s. winds will come out of the west carrying in that cool pacific air and making for a very comfortable day, especially inland. 75 in livermore and 69 in san

francisco and temperatures if we head throughout the heat of the day will be perfect for viewing the blue angels. temperatures drop off and increasing the cloud cover. we are expecting a few showers. through the end of next week, 70s and we are done with the extreme heat. give the ac a brick for the next seven days. >> nice for the power bill. if you want to catch the action in person yourself, here's a run down of the events happening around the bay area. fleet week in the northern san francisco waterfront from 8 to 5:00 today. we will have a live report on fleet week and the lineup at 7:00. america's cup village opens at 10:00 this morning. the blue grass festival will be at golden gate park and the italian heritage parade will be

12:30 this afternoon in the north beach neighborhood. for the latest on weather, traffic, and all of the live events, go to nbcbayarea.com and follow us on facebook as well and twitter. @bay big weekend. you will find all of the events that way. >> a high school volleyball coach has been ordered to stay away from campus. there was a report that nicholas kalustian who coaches at acalanes high school was having an inappropriate relationship with a student. he was working at burton valley elementary school and has been arrest and was placed on administrative leave. we hope to see you back here at 7:00 for today in the bay and all of the coverage for this big weekend including live reports from at&t park and reports on

the giants and the a's playoffs. more local news for you in a half hour. good morning! wow. want to start the day with something heart healthy and delicious? you're a talking bee... honey nut cheerios has whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol. and it tastes good? sure does! right... ♪ wow. delicious, right? yeah. it's the honey, it makes it taste so... ♪ well, would you look at the time... what's the rush? be happy. be healthy.

we are back on saturday morning, october 6th, 2012, and we're happy to have our friends on the plaza enjoying this mild weather. nice columbus day weekend. i'm jenna wolf along with lester holt. coming up, a remarkable story of survival. >> this 23-year-old survived a car accident where her spine was actually torn from her skull. that type of injury, as you can imagine, is usually fatal. she'll tell us exactly how she survived. >> great story. then we're going to switch gears and talk shopping. there's a grocery store chain that's got some new offerings aimed at getting consumers to buy more than just food. it seems to be the new trend. we're going to take a look at that. >> one-stop shopping. what do the beatles and james bond have in common? the fab four and 007 both have

nicknames with numbers in them, they're both british, and we'll tell you why it's a special time for fans of both cultural icons. >> i love the beatles, but can we stay on that daniel craig shot for like six more hours? are you okay with that? >> yeah, sure, that's fine. stephanie abrams with a check on the weather. >> i have a high one here. you're not ready for this cold air, huh? >> no. >> i've got some bad news for her and for you at home if you like the warmth, because check this out. we have a huge dip in the temperatures all the way down into texas. even dallas seeing highs only into the 50s, well below average as we head throughout the day today. anywhere from the west all the way into the northeast. you like those 70s today? you're not going to like those 50s as we we have a lot happening across the bay area as we head throughout the day especially in san francisco and the weather is going to hold up for your

events. we have major changes in the weather department. if you can get out today, might be the dito do so. we have live traffic coverage and we will tell you about all the events. skype degrees and 75 for livermore. temperatures stay comfortable throughout the weekend. showers on tuesday. texas known for football. we're talking college and pro. these two cute little darlings are in texas. where in texas? >> dallas. >> can you guys give me a giddy snup. >> >> she's turning 21. >> you're turning 21? wow. maybe it's your birthday. your weather forecast 24 hours a day, and of course we have football tonight. "football night in america" actually is sunday night. tailgating weather. it's going to be beautiful if you're doing any tailgating because, of course, it will be

inside the superdome. jenna, over to you. now to an incredible story of survival. in a split second, rachel bailey's life changed forever when she was hit broad side by another vehicle. the force of the crash left her with a life-threatening neck injury and partially paralyzed. just a year later, doctors say her recovery is miraculous. >> so this is the kind of food that i like. >> reporter: for 23-year-old rachel bailey, this dinner was a moment to show gratitude to the phoenix firefighters who came to her aid after a violent car crash left her near death. >> i wanted to know who had saved me. i wanted to thank them. and i wanted to honor them. >> reporter: just one year ago, rachel was in a coma, the impact of a car accident had ruptured vital ligaments in her neck and forced the base of her skull off her spine. she suffered what's called an internal decapitation. this neurosurgeon has treated rachel since the accident.

>> a good number of patients who suffer these type of injuries potentially are left either dead or with significant neurological injuries. >> in an injury like the one rachel suffered, the spine cord is dangerously close to being suffered, just coughing could rupture it. >> the head is only attached to the neck via soft tissue and skin. movement one way or the other can lead to the spinal cord becoming injured. >> reporter: rachel underwent surgery to put screws in her neck and remained in a coma for nearly a month. when she woke up, she had no memory of the accident. >> the first memory i had, i just remember being held in such peace that everything was going to be okay, i was going to be okay. >> reporter: with her parents by her side, rachel fights through eight hours of physical and occupational therapy every day, even a year later. >> i look at that, that's not me. >> how well she has done has

really being nothing short of amazing and spectacular. >> and rachel bailey joins us this morning. nice to see you. >> nice to see you, too. >> was it hard to watch that for you? >> you know, it is what it is. i can't change it. you can't ever change the past, only the future. >> okay. this is just a remarkable story. you've been through so much. how are you feeling right now? >> i feel good. i go to therapy about eight hours a day, monday through thursday. and i feel good. my energy level is high. i'm ready to take on the world. >> that's fantastic. physical therapist, occupational therapist as well. tell me about your team. how many people are involved in team bailey here? >> oh, gosh. i have a little over 40 doctors. i have two different occupational therapists, two different speech therapists.

two different physical therapists. i've got my own neuropsychologist, my own psychiatrist. it's just an unbelievable amount of people. >> and then your parents. >> my parents. >> your friends. >> yep. >> and i'm sure you've gotten a ton of support from people that have heard about your story. >> i have had the best support ever that anyone can ever dream of. >> clearly, we're seeing you, you know, happy right now and really on the road to recovery, but there have been some dark times, i'm sure, ever since the accident. what's been the toughest thing about the recovery for you? >> the toughest thing about the recovery has been just that isolation and loneliness. i was working as a personal trainer at the time, and so i was very active and around a lot of people, and then going from that to just by yourself 24 hours a day was the hardest. >> you mentioned you were a

personal trainer before the accident. doctors called this miraculous that you not only survived, but did as well as you did. you say it's because you had so much muscle and you were so strong that you were able to recover and to keep your head on? am i saying that correctly? >> well, how i would describe it was the muscles surrounding my neck were incredibly strong, and then i had the training to do the physical therapy myself. i only had a few sessions of outpatient therapy, so i had to recover myself. >> what you're going through right now, this recovery hours and hours a day, it's so hard. what is it that keeps you motivated? >> my faith keeps me motivated, and thr grounded. what i got from this whole accident is to live is to give. so if i'm not a giving back, if i'm not volunteering at the

hospital that saved my life, i'm not living at all. >> well, rachel, your story is so inspiring. >> thank you. >> thank you so much for sharing with us and for being here. we wish you all the best as you continue to recover. >> thank you very much. great to be here. >> we're going to train sometime when you get healthy again, okay? you and i are going to hit the gym one day. promise me. >> all right. are you ready? >> not quite. i heard how you were certified. you are pretty strong. we'll keep the promise. >> all right. >> rachel bailey, thank you again so much. we're going to be right back after this. the answer? a lot less. the great american fix-up is going on now... ...with new projects every week and big savings every day. so you can do what needs to be done. today. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. right now, owens corning ecotouch attik insulation

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find them in the cracker aisle. this morning, adding clothing to your grocery list. you're probably used to buying grows ris at discount retailers, but what about shopping for things like jeans at a supermarket? it could soon come to a supermarket near you. katy tur has details. >> reporter: walk down the aisles at kroger marketplace in mansfield, ohio, and you'll notice something a little different. just steps from the milk, sight

and sounds -- oh, deep purple. fantastic. >> reporter: you don't usually find at a supermarket. basket full of groceries, linda and darrell are now considering some jeans. but not just any jeans. jeans that fit them perfectly. >> we're retired, so we have to watch our pennys, and if i watch -- food or clothing either one, i have to make my dollar stretch. >> reporter: pinch pennies, but not style. lucky for mom, though, picky isn't a problem with prices like these. >> we've got a 12-year-old and 13-year-old, so they find everything that's fashionable and fits our budget. >> reporter: kroger believes it won't just fit budgets and style, but also convenience. are customers going to come in here and buy a head of broccoli and maybe buy a new blouse? >> that's the idea. if they come in here needing produce and they think oh, by

the way, my favorite blouse got a hole in it or my daughter is outgrowing her onsies, they can buy that, too. >> reporter: places like welcome and target have been doing it for years. back in 2000, 2/3 of groceries were bought in traditional supermarkets. now that number is only about half. still, kroger hopes that people that do come through these doors will put a little something extra into their carts. >> so you have the targets, k-marts, walmarts who are now competing with the grocery stores, so the grocery stores are saying hey, wait a minute, if they can do that to us, why can't we do that to them? >> yes, kroger can build it, but will the customers come? not everyone is convinced. >> somehow mixing food and trying on clothes just doesn't go together. >> reporter: kim crow owns a boutique in cleveland. she warns that there's a lot more psychological backage to clothes than a head of broccoli.

>> i need a cocktail and my hand to be held when i'm buying den nil and i don't think you'll get that at kroger. >> reporter: mom of five jennifer lamp is also spectacle. >> i would not come to kroeger to buy an outfit. >> reporter: but that didn't stop her from buying a couple raincoats for her kids. a convenient checkout that may cast out all of those doubts. for "today," katy tur, mansfield, ohio. >> still to come. a british invasion. 50 years of bond and the beatles. it's impact after these messages. >> bond. james bond. [ snoring ] [ male announcer ] introducing zzzquil sleep-aid. [ snoring ] [ snoring ] [ male announcer ] it's not for colds, it's not for pain, it's just for sleep. [ snoring ] [ male announcer ] because sleep is a beautiful thing. [ birds chirping ]

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a special milestone this weekend for cultural icons the beatles and james nd. they were both part of the british invasion and they share something else that are important as well. keir simmons from london. >> reporter: britain's biggest spy got spy billing at the olympics. and a former beatle closed the show. the beatles -- >> here they are, the baelts!

>> reporter: and bond. turns out they've been together a long time. >> bond. james bond. >> bond. >> reporter: 007 was created by former spy ian fleming back in the '50s, but the hugely successful movie franchise got its start with the release of "dr. no" 50 years ago. >> a license to kill where he pleases, when he pleases. >> a lovely story, quite exotic locations, and some fun. >> reporter: a winning formula and a license to fill movie theaters for half a century. the latest bond, "skyfall" out next month. bond has changed with times. >> hi, i'm daniel craig and i'm

hosting "snl" with muse. >> do you get to keep the james bond gadgets? >> i do. >> reporter: but some things haven't changed at all. that aston martin. connery changed one. so does craig. and that signature theme song written for the first film by monte norman. >> the moment i heard that, i knew i was on to the right thing. ♪ >> reporter: music is what brings us here to abbey road where the beatles recorded, and here's the connection. the first beatles record came out on the very same day as that first bond film, october 5th, 1962. it was the beginning of a revolution in popular culture. the beatles not only changed with the times, they helped define them. the band broke up long ago, of course, but the music carries

on, and there's something very british about that. the beatles, like bond, are forever. for "today," keir simmons, nbc news, london. just ahead, are chris brown and rihanna really back together again? and what message does it send to young women? but first, this is "today" on nbc. ♪ most paints have color that sits on the surface. but nothing beats benjamin moore's color lock technology that locks color right in, no matter how often you wash it. color lock technology. exclusively from your benjamin moore retailer. find your perfect color with a buy one, get one pint offer. visit benjaminmoore.com/promo.

stoil come on "today," u.s. speed skater admits he tampered with an opponent's skates before a big competition, potentially the biggest scandal on ice since harding and kerrigan. this morning he speaks out in an exclusive interview. plus, a battle of biblical proportions in texas over religion and football. but first, these messages. some places i go really aggravate my allergies.

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and it's all right here. have you heard for the 408 and 669 area codes? no, what is it? starting october 20, 2012, if you have a 408 or 669 number, you'll need to dial 1 plus the area code plus the phone number for all calls. o.k., but what if i have an 408 number and i'm calling a 408 number? you'll still need to dial 1 plus the area code

plus the phone number. so when in doubt, dial it out! >> look be live at spran. traffic across bridge in the distance. a lot more traffic later today. it is a big bay area weekend. thank for joichbing us. we have lots of events going on you probably want to know what the forecast is. >> good morning to you at home. starting with a live look over san jose, we have a really good-looking weekend shaping up. considering the extreme heat. 107 earlier in the week in gilroy. 48 in novato and down tote south bay. 54 in san jose. heading towards a comfortable afternoon with the westerly flow

increasing. cool ocean air to the inland valleys. mostly gray to start from the coast and through the inland vels with a fair amount of cloud cover and all the way through the bay area. 69 in san francisco and 67 degrees in santa cruz. we stay cool and comfortable through columbus day and 63 bayside and 59 at the coast. it gets interesting next week monday into tuesday. expecting showers so you may have to break out the umbrella. >> the big bay weekend is under way. if you are looking for something to do, there lots of choices. baseball playoffs, sailing with fleet week and the blue grass festival. you can plan to drive to san francisco or ditch your car. parking will be tight. traffic will be a mess. trying to find a parking space

will be rough so they encourage you to take public transportation. >> we have fleet week and america's cup and the giants and the 49ers. >> if you can walk, i would walk. if you can bike, i would be biking. if you can drive, i would leave it at home. >> several local schools are opening the parking lots for a $25 fee, but at least that is an option. live events are kwofred on air and you can go there and follow us on twitter. it's big bay. the owners of the pueblo super market chain are under pressure by the federal government. they are auditing the super market chain after complaints about suspected undocumented immigrants working at the

stores. because of the audit, they have joined the federal e verify system that checks the immigration status of new hires. they made that announcement ahead of a planned boycott by shoppers and workers set for monday. they have stores from valet ho to sa lippas and the central valleys as well. hope to see you back for today in the bay with complete coverage of the big weekend including live reports from at&t park and the giants and the a's playoffs and everything else you need to know about the weekend. want to start the day with something heart healthy and delicious? you're a talking bee... honey nut cheerios has whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol. and it tastes good? sure does! right... ♪ wow. delicious, right? yeah. it's the honey, it makes it taste so... ♪ well, would you look at the time... what's the rush? be happy. be healthy.

back now with more of "today" on this saturday morning, october 6th, 2012. our thanks to everyone who is spending some of their day with us. i'm lester holt along with jenna wolf. i like that music. >> yeah, i like it. groovy. >> coming up in just a moment, election day one month away. a new report out friday shows the unemployment rate dropped below 8%, but one legendary business executive says the president's team cooked the books is. that possible? we'll get into all that in just a moment. plus, an olympic speed skater admits to tampering with his rival's skates before a big competition. he says his coach urged him to do it. we'll talk with simon cho in an exclusive interview in just a few minutes. and are chris brown and

rihanna back together? hear what folks are saying about their possible reconciliation three years after brown brutally attacked rihanna. and then we're going to switch gears and tell you about a legal reprieve for some high school cheer leaders in texas. the small town squad was tackling a big issue in school involving football and religion. we'll tell you what it's all about. we want to begin this half-hour with the race for the white house. we are talking one month now until election day. both president obama and his republican challenger governor mitt romney are using friday's jobs report to bolster their campaign arguments. mike viqueira is at the white house. >> reporter: it is a huge number, it's good news for the unemployed, good political news for the president, but at least some people think the news is a little bit too good to be true. campaigning in ohio, the president seized on the new numbers, hoping the up beat

economic news carries over to his campaign. >> this morning we found out that the unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest level since i took office. >> reporter: predebate polls had the president ahead in ohio. now mr. obama wants to protect that lead with what supporters had hoped to see wednesday night, a mocking assault on mitt romney. >> when he was asked how he would actually cut spending and reduce the deficit, he said he'd go after funding for public television. elmo, you better make a run for it. >> reporter: on the stump in virginia, romney says the jobless numbers don't tell the whole story. too many workers, he says, have simply stopped looking. >> when i'm president of the united states, that unemployment rate is going to come down, not because people are giving up and dropping out of the work force, but because we're creating more jobs. >> reporter: with the unexpected drop, some saw a conspiracy. former general electric chairman jack welch seemed to accuse the obama campaign of cooking the books, tweeting unbelievable jobs numbers. these chicago guys will do

anything. can't debate, so change numberns. later on "hardball", welch admitted he has no evidence to back that up, but he remained defiant. >> i don't want to take back one word in that tweet. it seems coincidental that one month before the election they would end up at 7.8. >> reporter: the charge was met with outrage from many, including the president's backers. >> jack welch should be ashamed of himself. there is absolutely no way the bureau of labor statistics cooks these numbers. >> reporter: as his campaign shows new momentum, romney is also trying to put his biggest gaffe behind him, repudiating his own comments about the so called 47%. >> well, clearly in a campaign with hundreds if not thousands of speeches and question and answer sessions, now and then you're going to say something that doesn't come out right. in this case, i said something that's just completely wrong. >> reporter: mitt romney has campaign events this week in florida, but around those events he'll be joined by senator rob portman, the one that plays president obama in the debate

camp practice sessions. mitt romney is getting ready for the next session, next debate, hoping his mum carries over next week. >> john harwood is cnbc's chief washington correspondent. thanks for being here. i don't know if it's possible to strip politics away from these new unemployment numbers, but if you can, explain, does the president get credit for these numbers coming down, and how real are they? >> well, the president gets credit or blame for whatever the economic conditions are on his watch. these are numbers that are better than they've been, but they're still not good numbers. 7.8% is a high unemployment rate. we've got an economy that's not growing very fast. but it's certainly good news for the president to be able to say that 7.8%, the rate when i took office, we're back down there again. but i think people make too much political impact of these jobs numbers, because they don't need a government statistic to tell them how they feel about it. >> but then you have somebody

influential like jack welch who tweets something suggesting these numbers are cooked. every expert seems to suggest that would be impossible. what's your take on that? >> i respect jack welch's accomplishments on business, but on this subject, he has no idea what he's talking about. that is lunacy, the idea that they would cook up these numbers. it really is a reflection of the disease in our political media culture. so many people on both sides ideologically rejecting facts that are inconvenient for their side. it's too bad, but i think it is simply not the case. >> when those numbers came out, those unemployment numbers came out friday morning, it certainly changed the conversation away from the debate and the president's weak performance. does that change that conversation going forward or is he still weighed down to some extent by how well or how poorly he may have performed that night? >> i think he's weighed down to some exnt. i think the debates, which were seen by tens of millions of people, got the chance to see both candidates side by side. mitt romney performed a lot better than many americans may have expected. i think that's going to be the

more influential event of the week. the question for romney campaign is can they continue that momentum? a lot of republicans are excited about the prospect of paul ryan debating joe biden. if they can keep that going and if mitt romney can follow up with another performance in the second debate, they could get on a roll in the same way george w. bush did against al gore in 2000. >> governor romney seemed to be pro-regulation. he said he was against cutting taxes for the wealthy in this debate. some see this as a bit of a transformation, a move to the middle a month before the election. is that what's happening here and might it benefit him going forward? >> well, i think it will benefit him, lester. i don't think it's a move toward policy. it is in tone. a lot of people have wondered why mitt romney have not projected that tone earlier. what he was trying to say to americans is i share the values behind the impulse to regulate, to expand health care, to expand education, but i want to do it in a different way and here's why my way is better.

that's an effective style of argumentation. that's what he showed. it's going to be up to the president if he can rebut it to do so in the next debate. he didn't do it in the first debate. >> we've got a couple more ahead. john harwood, thanks very much. >> you bet. >> let's get a check of this morning's other headlines. chris jennifer anist chris jansing is in the news desk. five terror suspects have lost a yearlong fight to avoid facing charges in the u.s. they arrived today after being extradited from britain. the best known in the group is this radical preacher wanted in this country on charges of trying to set up a terrorist training camp in oregon. there is a verdict in a scandal that rocked the vet can. pope benedict's butler was found guilty today of stealing pope benedict's secret documents and leaking them to a joushlist. the documents detail infighting and other problems in the catholic church. paolo gabrielle has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.

an amber alert has been issued for a missing colorado girl. the 10-year-old was last seen walking to school friday morning. police say she normally meets a friend at a park before heading to school but never made it. nearly two dozen good samaritans rushed to rescue a woman and her two toddler grandchildren friday. they were run over by an elderly driver in a busy section of brooklyn. all three victims are in stable condition after being pinned under a car. the driver says he meant to step on the brake, not the gas, as he was backing up. 70 vehicles were involved in this crash friday in sarasota, county. 52 people were hurt. three of them are in serious condition. finally, michael phelps may have a future golf. check this out. the 18-time olympic gold medalist was playing in a pro-am in scotland on friday.

look at this amazing putt. it was gauged at over 50 yards, just about the length of the olympic swimming pool that phelps is so used to. of course that explains it. that's the news. now back to lester and jenna. >> feel like we need rowdy gaines. >> or a soccer goal would have been appropriate. seriously, the talent this guy has. share a little bit of it. it's amazing. >> chris, thank you. stephanie abrams is on the plaza with a check of your forecast. a mild one at that in new york. >> what's been the best decade after all these years? >> the year of having children. >> the year of having children. that's what the kids were supposed to say? what was the best decade ever?

>> all of them. >> which was what decade? the 90s. let's have a look at your birthday forecast. let's have a look at our followage report. unfortunately, it could take it down. in minnesota, just beautiful color going on. good morning to you. 6:10 on a saturday. a gorgeous day shaping up and crystal clear conditions for notice. we are expecting the fog to roll in through the next couple of hours. limited sunshine for the first part of the day. temperatures will not be that warm, but perfection in concord. 75 degrees and 69 in san francisco. 67 degrees down in santa cruz. you will be heading to the giants game, pack a jacket. 62 degrees and all the action when it comes to the big bay

weekend right here. down on this end of the plaza, celebrating 40 years together. what's the trick? >> yes, dear. >> all right, jenna. yes, dear. >> i like it. stephanie, thank you. a new admission of unsportsmanlike conduct in u.s. speed skating. reigning national champion simon cho says he tampered with a rival's skate at last year's world championship. we'll talk to him exclusively in just a moment. but first, stephanie gosk has his story. >> reporter: speed skaters have always lived life on the edge. now simon cho says he took it too far, breaking the rules of fair competition. >> i tampered with a skate that belonged to a canadian team skater after being pressured to do so by his coach. >> reporter: he says his coach put him up to it during the 2011 world championships, using their mutual korean heritage asthma n

-- as manipulation. >> in the asian culture, when another skz you to do something, it's very difficult to deny. >> reporter: his lawyer says his client won't comment until after the hearing, but the u.s. speed skating federation says they cannot prove it was the coach's idea. >> we do not believe there is sufficient evidence to conclude that the coach directed simon cho to tamp we are the skates. >> reporter: the canadian star knew there was something wrong with his skates the first lap of the relay and was forced to withdraw. he used a bending machine to tamp we are the blades. any change of alignment at those speeds could have been extremely dangerous. >> clearly they undermine the credibility of the sport. this is a tremendous black eye for u.s. speed skating. >> reporter: cheating scandals regularly rock sports fans' faith. during the london games, a chinese badminton pair deliberately threw a match so

their team could win more medals. some of the biggest names in baseball have been suspended for using performance-enhancing drugs. but what cho did will most likely trigger memories of the 1994 u.s. figure skating championships, when tonya harding paid her bodyguard to hurt fellow skater nancy kerrigan. it ended harding's career. as for cho, he's still waiting to hear what his punishment will be. >> i actually called olivier jean personally last night to apologize. >> reporter: the u.s. and canada face off in just two weeks in calgary. for "today," stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york. >> simon cho and his lawyer join us for an exclusive interview. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> thanks for being with us. simon, let me start with you. you had nothing to gain by doing this. the u.s. team had already been knocked out of the competition. so why did you do it? >> well, the previous week, i had won my first world championship title, so i had nothing to gain from this, but

my coach was adamant that i do this for him. >> and why was that? you had mentioned in early reports you felt you were singled out because of your heritage, because you were korean, you were both korean, you and your coach? >> yes, that played a big role. our cultural background. but our coach say su believed that the canadians fixed a race, which eliminated us and he was very disappointed and bitter about that. >> we mentioned earlier, your coach denies telling you to tamper with the skates. do you have any proof? are there any witnesses to back up your claim? did anyone hear your coach ask you to do this? >> when he initially asked me, he asked me in english and i was with my teammate jeff simon at the time. >> and jeff heard him say this? >> yes. >> let me ask you this. your coach -- you say your coach pressured you. you were the one who actually

went out and did this. do you feel like you actually shoulder the blame for what happened? >> well, at the end of the day, you know, i carried out this action, so i had to take a proper responsibility for this action, which is why i decided to come forward and tell the truth about everything. but the whole time i knew it was wrong, and i felt like i was going against my will. >> john, let me bring you in here. the u.s. speed skating announced it's convening a disciplinary panel about what to do with simon's claim here. the winter olympics are about a year and a half out. will he be able to compete in those games? >> that's a very good question. my main point at this point is that there not be an unfair rush to make an example out of simon. the reason i say that is because this incident came out in the context of numerous complaints against u.s. speed skating and its coaches, but u.s. speed skating has issued a statement

strongly condemning simon and minimizing all the other complaints, so i am hopeful that simon is not going to be thrown under the bus here, so to speak, and that we would have an opportunity to demonstrate that he, in fact -- what he did was wrong, clearly, but that he did it at the direction of his coach and that there is no way he would have done this independently, because he had nothing to gain from doing it and gained nothing from doing it. >> all right. well, simon cho and john wanderly, we thank you both for being with us this morning. >> thank you for having us. up next, the debate over high school cheerleaders using bible verses to support their football team. that's right after these messages. -[ taste buds ] donuts, donuts! -who are these guys?

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now to texas, where a small town is rallying behind high school cheerleaders. the squad wants to continue displaying bible verses on banners at football games and their fight has made its way to court. >> reporter: a typical friday night in smoall town texas, as the lions seek another win. in a state where football is almost religion, the cheerleaders decided this season to paint bible verses on those banners that players run through before each game. >> we just wanted to make a run-through sign that was encouraging to the boys and

honorable to god. >> reporter: instead, it ignited a debate over religious expression in public schools. this week, a judge issued a temporary ruling in favor of the cheerleaders. who along with their parents filed suit after the school district tried to ban their biblical signs. >> students have constitutional rights. this is the students' private religious speech, so the school district has no right to censor it. >> reporter: district officials reacted after being contacted by an atheist group. but many of the 2200 residents rallied around the cheerleaders. >> it makes me real proud. proud of our kids, proud that they're willing to stand up, that they believe in god. >> reporter: a facebook support group boasts nearly 50,000 members and the texas attorney general weighed in. writing that the signs are constitutional because they are public displace of religion, are voluntary expressions of the students' believes and are not attribute bable to the school

district. even the school superintendent was sympathetic to the pep squad. >> i commend them for their boldness, but as a school democratic, we're going to continue to follow the law. >> reporter: the judge is expected to revisit the case in several weeks, but for now, the bible banners are here to stay. signs of faith under the friday night lights. still ahead as we continue here on a saturday morning, are pop stars chris brown and rihanna back together? why some people aren't happy about the message a reunion would send. we'll get into that. but first this is "today" on nbc. ♪

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still to come on "today," some supermarket advice. we'll have some tips before you head to the grocery store. plus, i helped lester take his workout to a higher level. a much higher level. wait until you see the results. plaque psoriasis. i decided enough is enough.

♪ [ spa lady ] i started enbrel. it's clinically proven to provide clearer skin. [ rv guy ] enbrel may not work for everyone -- and may not clear you completely, but for many, it gets skin clearer fast, within 2 months, and keeps it clearer up to 9 months. [ male announcer ] because enbrel®, etanercept, suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal, events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. if you've had enough, ask your dermatologist about enbrel. will: [ inner voice ] the only place i can afford. i'm so glad you're home. yeah. will: [ inner voice ] if i was smart enough to pounce on the daily double for just a buck 99 on the mcdonald's extra value menu

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you! [ giggles ] ♪ the one and only, cheerios . >> good morning. looking live at fremont. the bay area is buzzing. lots of weekend events. probably looking most forward to that oakland a's playoff game. i'm here with christina loren and weather should be perfect for just about everybody. >> it will be perfect for a while. finally getting into the fall-like pattern we yearn for in the summer months. temperatures will be comfortable. 69 in san francisco and right around 72 degrees in santa teresa. the a's playoff game is tonight about 6:30. that's happening in detroit.

looks like weather will be perfect. it will be cold out there, but i believe it will be in the favorite of our oakland a's. the giants are playing at 6:00 p.m. the first pitch at 6:30. a lot of excitement throughout the city with a lot of events happening and the weather will cooperate. 75 degrees and wind. 64 degrees at the coast. the only dicy issue we have to deal with is a potential for showers on tuesday. look at the 70s. you can't beat that, chris. >> we will be tuckered out by tuesday. >> thank you very much. if you want to catch the action yourself, here's a run down of the events happening around the bay area. fleet week tours are at the san francisco waterfront from 8:00 to 5:00 this afternoon. today in the bay will have a live report on fleet week for us at 7:00 this morning. america's cup village opens at

10:00 this morning. the blue grass festival will be from 11:00 to 7:00 at golden gate park. the italian heritage parade will be for 12:30 in the north beach neighborhood. our coverage does note stop on air or online. follow us on facebook and twitter. use the hash tag, bay big and you will find the events you are looking for. a high school volleyball coach has been ordered to stay away from campus. police received a report that 22-year-old nicholas kalustian was having an inappropriate relationship with a student. he coaches at acalanes. the relationship had been going on for more than a year. he was working at burton valley elementary school.

he was arrested and placed on leave from the district. we have more events for you later today. right here on nbc bay area, the big weekend. we have it all covered for you including sports. the playoff games for the a's and the giants and also fleet week and everything you need to know about parking and traffic as well. we will see you back here at 7:00. have you heard of the new dialing procedure for the 408 and 669 area codes? no, what is it? starting october 20, 2012, if you have a 408 or 669 number, you'll need to dial 1 plus the area code plus the phone number for all calls. o.k., but what if i have an 408 number and i'm calling a 408 number? you'll still need to dial 1 plus the area code plus the phone number. so when in doubt, dial it out!

we're back on a saturday morning, october 6th, 2012. >> i'm jenna wolf alongside lester holt. we're wondering if perhaps chris brown and rihanna are back together again. they've been on, off, on, off for a why. >> they were sweethearts, but all came to an end on the eve of the grammys in 2009 when brown beat rihanna. brown later pleaded guilty to assault. since then, rihanna says she still loves him. a lot of folks talking not just because know them as celebrities, but because it raises all sorts of questions about if you forgive.

>> and the concept of role models. and i know you're a big red meat eater. we'll have a talk about trimming costs when you head to the grocery store. >> you see premium and best. i hit the gym regularly, trying to stay in shape. >> yeah. you look great. >> and your love of fitness is well documented. >> i've talked about it a lot the last couple weeks. but look what happened when we were in jamaica. >> this seemed like a good idea. let's go work out. we decided to shoot our workout. and you were guaranteeing you were going to improve my workout routine. >> how come you weren't smiling? you also look like you were having heatstroke. [ laughter ] >> i was. that's what i kept trying to tell you during the whole time. >> i didn't pick up on that. >> a good time was had by all. but no weights in that at all. >> none at all. >> and we'll share your tips.

i'm allowed to talk about it. >> you are indeed. first, stephanie abrams promised me i did not need a jacket out here. >> do you? >> we talked about the word mild. it's a little chilly. >> no? >> i'm the floridian and i have no jacket. >> you're a much better person than i am. >> tomorrow you'll need the jacket, because that's when it's going to get cold. let me show it to you here on the maps. we have a big front pushing eastbound. so today, we have the 70s for our highs, anywhere from boston down to washington, d.c. but tomorrow, it's a whole other story. jenna, you're definitely going to need your jacket and so will everybody else in the northeast where our temperatures will be in the 50s and the rain will be moving in, oth . good saturday morning to you. 6:32 and a live look at a crystal clear toll plaza. the traffic looking good at this hour. we are expecting the clouds to roll in over the next couple of hours.

69 degrees in san francisco and 72 in redwood city and 69 today in santa cruz. americas cup racing continues out there on the bay. temperatures will be comfortable heading throughout the remainer of the weekend. we drop off and expecting showers on tuesday. all right, for your forecast 24 hours a day, all you have to do is go to weather.com what. do you say we talk about football. it's happening across the country. on this sunday, it's going to be happening down in the bayou. we do have the chargers visiting in st. louis -- my goodness. whoo, it is the weekend, isn't it! down in new orleans, i should say, the superdome. it's an indoor game, so if you're doing tailgating, that's when you'll feel the effects of that beautiful weather. jenna? >> stephanie, thanks. chris brown and rihanna are two of the most talked about artists in pop music. speculation about a possible reunion between the two stars has their fans abuzz and relationship experts concerned.

>> reporter: it was a statement to explain chris brown's breakup with this model, but it only served to raise more questions. i have decided to be sing toll focus on my career. i love karru, che very much, but i don't want to see her hurt over my friendship with rihanna. brown seemed to confirm what friends suspected for months, ever since the two began following each other again in twitter. they were both spotted in st. tropez at the same time. and then rihanna's revealing interview with oprah. >> what happens when you see him? >> it's awkward. it's awkward because i still love him. >> does your heart do this? does your heart do that thing? >> my stomach drops. >> in this video he posted to twitter, brown seems just as torn about their situation. >> you know, when you share history with somebody, you try to fall in love with somebody

else, it's kind of difficult. >> reporter: the reason there's so much interest in their possible reunion lies in the very reason they broke up in the first place. a brutal assault three years ago the night of the grammys that left rihanna bitten, bruised, and bloody. >> we all remember that picture of rihanna's face after that domestic violence incident. we can't get that out of our head. >> reporter: brown was convicted of felony assault, and ordered to stay 50 yards away from rihanna. the order was lifted last year with her consent. while some fans seem excited, some relationship experts are concerned. >> the message that rihanna is sending to her young female fans is that it's perfectly okay to let a man treat you any way he wants to, he can even hit you, and that's fine, take him back. >> reporter: as for the woman with whom brown broke up, she's not saying much, tweeting "bye, baby." >> we reached out to rihanna's representatives, but they had no comment. up next, how to get best value for your money when it comes to buying meat.

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this morning on "today's consumer smarts", choosing the best cut of meat for your money. we enlisted the help of janet lieberman. good morning. >> good morning. it's basically meat-buying 101, because since the days of having a neighborhood butcher are basically gone, how do you find the best meat value for your family? well, we decided to find out. choosing the best beef for your buck can be confusing. >> beef. it's what's for dinner. >> with prices going up, what to spend your money on isn't easy.

so we sought out expert jack bishop of america's test kitchen. >> mind boggling. >> there's so many choices. there's so different names on all the packages. >> a lot of us remember sam the butcher from ""the brady bunch"." >> do you have an order of meat for us to pick up for alice? >> but in today's super market, finding a butcher is rare. >> this is a luxury where you can ask information, get information. >> so it's up to you to know what you're buying. the first item we looked at was ground beef. >> i like this because you know what cut it's coming from, the sirloin, it's got a really great flavor. you can tell by the texture. that's really great for making a burger. >> but if it's pre-packaged, how do you know what's right for you? >> if you're eating a burger, either the 80 to 85% lean is going to make a juicier burger. if you're cooking, you want to be using 90% or 93%. because you don't want all that grease. >> next, what's at steak when buying steak?

>> the three grades of beef, prime is the most expensive. then choice, then select. select is only available in some bargain supermarkets. the differentiation in the grade is by fat content. so i've got a prime rib eye steak here and you'll see these fine white lines are called marbling, and that does two things. one, it's going to give it a great texture. it's going to make it really tender and juicy. also, fat equals flavor. this prime steak is $23.99 a pound. this is the same cut. choice is our number one choice. it's about $14.99 for this. you see it's got enough fat that it's going to have flavor and good juiciness. >> shell sirloin and blade steak is often overlooked. jack says buying them can actually save you money. >> another cut that people don't think of grilling is the shell sirloin. this is about six bucks a pound. it's got nice flavor. just throw it on grill as is.

slice it thin across the grain when you're going to serve it. that will make it seem late bit more tender. sirloin really has good flavor. this is blade steak. it's $4.99 a pound. you see this line here of gristle? this is really, really tough. get rid of that, and now i can cut this into stew meat, i can slice it really thin for stir fry and it's got great beefy flavor, great choice. >> and last, a smarter way of buying pork. >> see, this looks like it's regular old pork tenderloin, but if you read the label carefully, it's up to 30% of a patented flavoring solution. pork broth, potassium, all kinds of ingredients. you're paying for those because it's by weight. a better option, turns out it's less expensive is the one that's natural. the only thing in this is pork. >> and actually this is cheaper. $6.49 a pound. and that's $7.99 a pound. >> so you save money and you get a better cut.

>> so no matter what you pay for a piece of prime, overcooking it may be the difference between making it tender and tough. >> when go to the grocery store, does color matter? the deeper the red, the better the meat? >> if there's graying, it could mean oxidation. so you want to go for the red if you can find it. when you take something home and it has any kind of odor to it, take it back to the supermarket. >> there are the purchase by dates. how much of a window do you really have there? >> you have three to four days. you want to look at something that's in the future. so if you have a choice of something that's two days older or a week, go for the week. look in the back, if you reach to the back, you'll get the fresher stuff. >> i went to the grocery store, bought meat, decided we're going cook this tomorrow or the next day. how long can you live it in the refrigerator as opposed to freezing it? >> i thought that was a great question. jack bishop says you have about three days to keep meat in the refrigerator. two days only for ground beef.

if you're not going to use it, throw it in the freezer. when you're ready to use something, put it inside the refrigerator on a plate and let it thaw, don't leave it outside on the counter. >> we have all experienced that where you reach into the freezer for something that's been in there forever, and it's got freezer burn. can i cook it? >> what that really means is that it's changed its texture. the juices have frozen. so it kind of makes it a little bit chewier, but it's not going to hurt your health. when you take it out, pat it dry because you want to get that extra ice and moisture out and it won't ground and brown if you have that extra water in it, which i thought was interesting. >> it won't hurt you then. >> no. >> great to have you on. thanks so much. up next, jenna turns up the heat on my workout routine. this is "today" on nbc.

it's been about a year and a half since i stepped into the gym with jenna and let her be my personal trainer for the day. took me that long to recover, by the way. since then, she's tried to book another workout but i've always been busy. >> but lester had nowhere to hide when we were on assignment in jamaica recently this summer, so i seized the opportunity to see if he's been staying in shape. here's what happened. >> a walk on the beach. a dip in the ocean. a tropical drink. a little reggae. this was our plan for jamaica. and if you ask me, it was a good plan as is. >> slow down, please. >> but the you ask me, there was one thing missing. a workout with lester, which we hadn't done in far too long. and maybe there's a reason it's been a while. >> in my defense, i'm no slouch at the gym, so energized by our beautiful surroundings -- >> how you doing? >> i'm great. jamaica, sunshine. >> i agreed to give it another

go. >> you know what i want to do to start? 50 uppercuts. we'll go down into 50 pikes. your stomach better be tight. tight. come on, tight. no rest. push your body. one down for 20. come on. >> did she call this the warm-up? >> water. >> some of us need a break apparently. >> it's 90 degrees out. >> and it was only going to get warmer. >> get into some touch-ups. land on your toes. butt kickers. just kick them out. this is your rest. >> this is my rest? >> what happened here? >> i saw a bug. >> come on. anyone can do anything for 18 reps. good. yes. comments? oh, my gosh. i have literally quieted him. we're doing 100 push-ups. pain is on your side. pain is your friend here. >> who said that?

>> i think rambo said it best. >> okay. >> nice job. 100 push-ups. next up for us, a little bit of shoulder work. relax the neck. medium circles. >> this is hard and it looks so easy. >> we are not even halfway there. >> we're not halfway there? >> arms up. don't wuss out. i'm doing the same thing you're doing. >> i need water seriously. i may not have been born in jamaica like jenna, but part of me began to think i might die here. >> i look over to my left to see how my partner's doing, realized -- >> you're doing great. >> m.i.a. where did you go, buddy? >> i had an important call. "dateline" business. >> you can only use that so many times. >> they needed me back if nooew york. >> i want do you draw with the knee and kick. 100. 99. 98. 97. higher. five. come on. get them up. and one. >> i'll teach you one. on your elbows.

one foot here. we're going to do 50 on one side and switch to 50 more. just like. this. >> don't put it down. >> how can i teach? >> i was teaching. >> oh, i forgot. >> five, four. finish strong, lester. nice job. you like those? >> love them. >> we saw the before picture. we were both standing straight up in the air and smiling? how you doing? >> i'm great. >> i want to show you guys the after picture. either he got incredibly short after this workout or i kicked his gluteus maximus. >> you're not going to throw up, are you? >> no, it was a nice workout. >> that feels so good. >> almost made it worthwhile. >> until we see you the next time from another island. >> about a year and a half cycle with sneeze. >> we can shorten it. i have to give you so credit. you work sod hard. you're in really great shape. >> thank you. but that was really hot.

>> it was very hot. >> it was like 90 degrees and very humid. >> and if you don't train outside, your body is not used to it. >> but to be perfectly honest, i do work out. every other day i'm in the gym. but i take a rest between each exercise. you don't. you go right into the next thing. >> i take a little bit of a rest. much shorter rest than you do. but everyone has to work at their own level. >> what i like about this, and you and i are both on the road a lot. i use a lot of weights and machines. everything we did there was sans weights. >> and your french pronunciation is stellar. sans weights. use your own body weight. you don't need to rely -- that's an excuse. i can't find a gym so i can't work out. that's why i put it together. >> this thing that we were doing, do that for 100 times. >> all the camera men are doing it now. you really feel it. so you'll come back? we'll do it again? >> yeah, another 18 months? >> put it on your calendar. >> we'll be back in a moment, but first these memgs. [ female announcer ] pillsbury grands biscuits

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. that's going to do it for us on a saturday morning. thank you very much for being here. >> i've seen this sign all morning long. quickly, say hi to your kids. >> hi, crystal, jacob, adam, alex, hi, guys! >> that's it. tomorrow, secrets of the cult favorite "the princess bride." [ boy ] with box tops for education,

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